Hadeeth About Being Questioned in the Grave

[🔊 Audio]

البراء بن عازب رضي الله عنه قال: خرجنا مع النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم في جنازة رجل من الأنصار، فانتهينا إلى القبر ولما يُلحَد، فجلس رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم [مستقبل القبلة]، وجلسنا حوله، وكأن على رؤوسنا الطير، وفي يده عود ينكُت في الأرض، [فجعل ينظر إلى السماء، وينظر إلى الأرض، وجعل يرفع بصره ويخفضه، ثلاثًا]، فقال: استعيذوا بالله من عذاب القبر، مرتين أو ثلاثًا، [ثم قال: اللهم إني أعوذ بك من عذاب القبر] [ثلاثًا].

{a} al-Baraa’ ibn ‘Aazib (may Allaah be pleased with him) stated: We set out with the Prophet (may Allaah grant him commendation and protection) to join the funeral procession of a man among the Ansaar (i.e. Muslims of al-Madeenah). When we arrived at the burial site, we found that the burial compartment in the grave’s wall had not yet been dug out. Allaah’s Messenger (may Allaah grant him commendation and protection) then sat down, [facing the direction of the Ka‘bah], and we sat around him while being so still it was as though there were birds perched upon our heads. Allaah’s Messenger (may Allaah grant him commendation and protection) had a twig in his hand with which he was prodding the ground. He [then began to look up at the sky and back down to the ground. He raised and lowered his gaze thrice, and] then said, “Seek refuge with Allaah from the torment of the grave,” repeating that twice or thrice. [He then supplicated, “O Allaah, I earnestly seek refuge with You from the torment of the grave,”] [and he repeated that thrice].

ثم قال: إن العبد المؤمن إذا كان في انقطاع من الدنيا، وإقبال من الآخرة، نزل إليه ملائكةٌ من السماء، بيض الوجوه، كأن وجوههم الشمس، معهم كفن من أكفان الجنة، وحَنوطٌ من حنوط الجنة، حتى يجلسوا منه مَدَّ البصرِ، ثم يجيء ملك الموت - عليه السلام - حتى يجلس عند رأسه فيقول: أيتها النفس الطيبة [وفي رواية: المطمئنة]، اخرُجي إلى مغفرة من الله ورضوان.

{b} He then said, “Indeed, when a servant of Allaah who accepts and complies with the truth from Allaah is at the brink of departing from this world and moving on to the hereafter, angels will descend to him from above. Their faces will be very bright, resembling the radiance of the sun. They will have with them a shroud from the shrouds of Jannah, and shrouding fragrance from the shrouding fragrances of Jannah. They will approach until they sit at the boundary of his sight. The Angel of Death – whom Allaah grants protection – will then come, sit right by the person’s head, and say, ‘You, the pure soul,’ [– an alternate narration contains the wording: ‘the tranquil soul’ –] ‘are to now leave that body and proceed towards Allaah’s forgiveness and pleasure’.”

قال: فتخرج تسيل كما تسيل القَطرة مِن في السقاء، [وفي رواية: حتى إذا خرجت روحه صلى عليه كلُّ مَلَكٍ بين السماء والأرض، وكل ملك في السماء، وفتحت له أبواب السماء، ليس من أهل باب إلا وهم يدعون الله أن يُعْرَجَ بروحه من قبلهم]، فيأخذها، فإذا أخذها لم يدعوها في يده طرفة عين حتى يأخذوها فيجعلوها في ذلك الكفن وفي ذلك الحنوط، [فذلك قوله تعالى: ((تَوَفَّتْهُ رُسُلُنَا وَهُمْ لَا يُفَرِّطُونَ)).

{c} Allaah’s Messenger (may Allaah grant him commendation and protection) continued, “The soul will then leave the body, flowing out as smoothly as a drop of water flows out from a water skin’s mouth. [Once that person’s soul comes out, every angel present between the heavens and the Earth will supplicate Allaah for him, and so will every angel in the heavens. The gates of the heavens will be opened for him, and those who are at each of the gates will invoke Allaah for the person’s soul to ascend from the gate where they are.] After the soul comes out, the Angel of Death will take hold of it, and once he does so, the other angels who are present will not leave it in his hand. They will take it within the blink of an eye, wrap it in the shroud that they brought with them, and apply to it the shrouding fragrance that they brought with them. [This is what is mentioned in the statement of Allaah, the Most Exalted, ((Our angels whom We send will seize his soul, and they never fall short in anything that they have been commanded to do.)) [6:61].

ويخرج منها كأطيب نفحة مسك وجدت على وجه الأرض، قال: فيصعدون بها فلا يمرون - يعني بها - على ملأٍ من الملائكة إلا قالوا: ما هذا الرَّوح الطيب؟ فيقولون: فلان ابن فلان، بأحسن أسمائه التي كانوا يسمونه بها في الدنيا، حتى ينتهوا بها إلى السماء الدنيا، فيستفتحون له، فيفتح لهم، فيشيِّعه مِن كل سماء مقرَّبوها، إلى السماء التي تليها، حتى يُنتهَى به إلى السماء السابعة.

{d} That soul will emit a scent similar to the most exquisite scent of any musk ever found upon the face of the Earth. The angels will take that soul upwards. Every group of angels they pass by” – meaning while carrying that soul as they ascend – “will inquire, ‘What is the source of this pleasant scent?’ Those accompanying the soul will reply, ‘This is so-and-so, the son of so-and-so’ – referring to the deceased with the best of names by which people referred to him during his life in this world. That will continue until they bring that soul to the nearest of the heavens. They will ask permission for that heaven to be opened for the person, and they will be granted permission for it to be opened. In each of the heavens, the angels who are nearest to Allaah will receive the person’s soul and accompany it to the next heaven. That will continue until he is eventually brought to the seventh heaven.

فيقول الله عز وجل: اكتبوا كتاب عبدي في عليين، ((وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا عِلِّيُّونَ، كِتَابٌ مَرْقُومٌ، يَشْهَدُهُ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ))، فيُكتَب كتابه في عليين، ثم يقال]: أعيدوه إلى الأرض، فإني [وعدتهم أني] منها خلقتهم، وفيها أعيدهم، ومنها أخرجهم تارة أخرى، قال: فـ[يرد إلى الأرض، و]تعاد روحه في جسده.

{e} Allaah – the Almighty and Most Majestic – will then instruct the angels, ‘Record what is written for My servant in the highest levels of Jannah ((and what could ever apprise you about the reality of the highest levels of Jannah? That is a decree which has been recorded and will not be altered. The angels nearest to Allaah from each of the heavens are witness to that.)) [83:19-21]. Thus, what is written for that person will be recorded in the highest levels of Jannah. The angels will then be instructed,] ‘Return him to the earth, because I certainly [promised all humans that I] created them from the earth, I will return them into it, and I will bring them out of it once again’.” Allaah’s Messenger (may Allaah grant him commendation and protection) continued by saying, “[He will then be returned to the earth, and] his soul will be put back in his body.”

[قال: فإنه يسمع خَفْقَ نعال أصحابه إذا ولوا عنه] [مدبرين].فيأتيه ملكان [شديدا الانتهار] فـ[ينتهرانه، و] يجلسانه فيقولان له: من ربك؟ فيقول: ربي الله، فيقولان له: ما دينك؟ فيقول: ديني الإسلام، فيقولان له: ما هذا الرجل الذي بُعِثَ فيكم؟ فيقول: هو رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، فيقولان له: وما عملك؟ فيقول: قرأت كتاب الله فآمنت به، وصدقَّتُ. فينتهره فيقول: من ربك؟ ما دينك؟ من نبيك؟ وهي آخر فتنة تعرض على المؤمن، فذلك حين يقول الله عز وجل ((يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا))، فيقول: ربي الله، وديني الإسلام، ونبيي محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم، فينادي مناد في السماء: أن صدق عبدي، فأفرِشوه من الجنة، وألبسوه من الجنة، وافتحوا له بابًا إلى الجنة، قال: فيأتيه من رَوحها وطيبها، ويفسح له في قبره مد بصره.

{f} [Allaah’s Messenger (may Allaah grant him commendation and protection) further said, “He will indeed hear the sounds made by the footwear of those who accompanied him for his burial as they walk away,] [leaving him behind]. Two [very harsh and stern] angels will then come to him. They will both address him sternly, sit him up, and ask him, ‘Who is your Lord?’ He will reply, ‘My Lord is Allaah.’ They will then ask him, ‘What is your religion?’ He will reply, ‘My religion is Islaam.’ They will then ask him, ‘What do you say about this man who was sent among you?’ He will reply, ‘He is the Messenger of Allaah (may Allaah grant him commendation and protection).’ They will then ask him, ‘On what basis did you perform your deeds?’ He will reply, ‘I read the Book of Allaah, and I then accepted and complied with that, and I unwaveringly believed it to be the absolute truth’. The angel will address him sternly and ask him, ‘Who is your Lord, what is your religion, and who is your Prophet?’ This will be the final trial to which a person who accepts and complies with the truth would be exposed. That is the situation described by Allaah – the Almighty and Most Majestic – in His statement, ((Allaah keeps the people who accepted and complied with the truth steadfast in this world by way of the word that stands firm.)) [14:27]. The person will reply by saying, ‘My Lord is Allaah, my religion is Islaam, and my Prophet is Muhammad (may Allaah grant him commendation and protection)’. A caller will then proclaim in the heavens, ‘What My worshipping servant said is correct. Therefore, you – the angels – are to give him furnishings from Jannah, clothe him from Jannah, and open for him a gate to Jannah’.” Allaah’s Messenger (may Allaah grant him commendation and protection) continued by saying, “As a result, some of the pleasant breeze and fragrance of Jannah will reach him, and his grave will be expanded for him as far as his sight reaches.”

قال: ويأتيه [وفي رواية: يمثل له] رجل حسن الوجه، حسن الثياب، طيب الريح، فيقول: أبشر بالذي يسرك، [أبشر برضوان من الله، وجنات فيها نعيم مقيم]، هذا يومك الذي كنت توعد، فيقول له: [وأنت فبشرك الله بخير] من أنت؟ فوجهك الوجه يجيء بالخير. فيقول: أنا عملك الصالح [فوالله ما علمتك إلا كنت سريعًا في طاعة الله، بطيئًا في معصية الله، فجزاك الله خيرًا].

{g} Allaah’s Messenger (may Allaah grant him commendation and protection) then said, “A man will come to him” [– an alternate narration contains the wording: “Something will appear before him in the form of a man” –] “whose face is nice, clothing is nice, and fragrance is pleasant. That man will say, ‘Receive glad tidings that will fill you with happiness. [Receive glad tidings of Allaah being pleased with you, and of gardens in Jannah that will contain everlasting blessings.] This is your day which you had been promised.’ The deceased will reply to that man by saying, ‘[I implore Allaah to convey tidings of much good to you as well.] Who are you? I ask because your face is one that heralds good.’ The man will reply, ‘I am your righteous deeds. [I swear by Allaah that I have always known you as swift to obey Allaah and slow to disobey Allaah. I, therefore, invoke Allaah to recompense you with much good.’]

ثم يفتح له باب من الجنة، وباب من النار، فيقال: هذا منزلك لو عصيت الله، أبدلك الله به هذا. فإذا رأى ما في الجنة قال: رب عجل قيام الساعة، كيما أرجعُ إلى أهلي ومالي، [فيقال له: اسكن].

{h} Then, opened for the deceased will be a gate to Jannah as well as a gate to the hellfire, and he will be told, ‘This would have been your abode had you disobeyed Allaah continuously and died doing so. Allaah has instead given you that other abode.’ Once the deceased sees what Jannah contains, he will plead, ‘My Lord, I beg You to let the Hour of Resurrection take place so that I may be reunited with my family and my property.’ [He will then be told, ‘You must remain here in tranquility for now’.”]

قال: وإن العبد الكافر [وفي رواية: الفاجر] إذا كان في انقطاع من الدنيا، وإقبال من الآخرة، نزل إليه من السماء ملائكة [غلاظ شداد]، سود الوجوه، معهم المسوح [من النار]، فيجلسون منه مد البصر، ثم يجيء ملك الموت حتى يجلس عند رأسه، فيقول: أيتها النفس الخبيثة، اخرجي إلى سخط من الله وغضب.

{i} Allaah’s Messenger (may Allaah grant him commendation and protection) continued, “And indeed, when a servant of Allaah who rejects the truth” [– an alternate narration contains the wording: “who is defiantly disobedient” –] “is at the brink of departing from this world and moving on to the hereafter, [tough and merciless] angels will descend to him from above. Their faces will be dark. They will have with them coarse cloth [from the hellfire]. They will approach until they sit at the boundary of his sight. The Angel of Death will then come, sit right by the person’s head, and say, ‘You, the repulsive soul, are to now leave that body and proceed towards Allaah’s displeasure and anger’.”

قال: فتفرَّقُ في جسده فينتزعها كما يُنتزَع السَّفُّودُ [الكثير الشُّعَب] من الصوف المبلول، [فتُقطَّعُ معها العروق والعَصَبُ]، [فيلعنه كل ملك بين السماء والأرض، وكل ملك في السماء، وتغلق أبواب السماء، ليس من أهل باب إلا وهم يدعون الله ألا تَعرُج روحُه من قبلهم]، فيأخذها، فإذا أخذها لم يدعوها في يده طرفة عين حتى يجعلوها في تلك المسوح.

{k} Allaah’s Messenger (may Allaah grant him commendation and protection) continued, “The soul will then disperse throughout the body, and the Angel of Death will forcefully pull it out in a manner similar to what happens when a branch or an iron skewer [with many prongs] is pulled through wet wool, [and the person’s veins and nerves would be torn apart as his soul is pulled out]. [Every angel present between the heavens and the Earth will supplicate that he be expelled from Allaah’s mercy, and so will every angel in the heavens. The gates of the heavens will be shut, and those who are at each of the gates will invoke Allaah for the person’s soul to not ascend from the gate where they are.] After the soul comes out, the Angel of Death will take hold of it, and once he does so, the other angels who are present will not leave it in his hand. They will take it within the blink of an eye and wrap it in the coarse cloth that they brought with them.

ويخرج منها كأنتن ريحِ جيفة وجدت على وجه الأرض، فيَصعَدون بها، فلا يمرون بها على ملأٍ من الملائكة إلا قالوا: ما هذا الرَّوح الخبيث؟ فيقولون: فلان ابن فلان - بأقبح أسمائه التي كان يُسمَّى بها في الدنيا، حتى يُنتهَى به إلى السماء الدنيا فيُستفتح له، فلا يفتح له، ثم قرأ رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: ((لَا تُفَتَّحُ لَهُمْ أَبْوَابُ السَّمَاءِ وَلَا يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ حَتَّى يَلِجَ الْجَمَلُ فِي سَمِّ الْخِيَاطِ)).

{l} That soul will emit a scent similar to the most repulsive scent of any carcass ever found upon the face of the Earth. The angels will take that soul upwards. Every group of angels they pass by will inquire, ‘What is the source of this repulsive scent?’ Those accompanying the soul will reply, ‘This is so-and-so, the son of so-and-so’ – referring to the deceased with the worst of names by which people referred to him during his life in this world. That will continue until they bring that soul to the nearest of the heavens. They will ask permission for that heaven to be opened for the person, but it will not be opened for him.” Allaah’s Messenger (may Allaah grant him commendation and protection) then recited Allaah’s statement, ((The gates of the heavens will not be opened for such people and it will be impossible for them to enter Jannah just as it is impossible for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.)) [7:40].

فيقول الله عز وجل: اكتبوا كتابه في سجين، في الأرض السفلى، [ثم يقال: أعيدوا عبدي إلى الأرض فإني وعدتهم أني منها خلقتهم، وفيها أعيدهم، ومنها أخرجهم تارة أخرى]، فتُطرَح روحه [من السماء] طرحًا [حتى تقع في جسده] ثم قرأ ((وَمَنْ يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَكَأَنَّمَا خَرَّ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ فَتَخْطَفُهُ الطَّيْرُ أَوْ تَهْوِي بِهِ الرِّيحُ فِي مَكَانٍ سَحِيقٍ))، فتعاد روحه في جسده.

{m} Allaah’s Messenger (may Allaah grant him commendation and protection) continued by saying, “Allaah – the Almighty and Most Majestic – will then instruct the angels, ‘Record what is written for My servant in the farthest depths of the lowest earth.’ [The angels will then be instructed, ‘Return My servant to the earth, because I certainly promised all humans that I created them from the earth, I will return them into it, and I will bring them out of it once again.’] His soul will then be forcefully cast down [from the sky] [until it falls back into his body]’.” Allaah’s Messenger (may Allaah grant him commendation and protection) then recited Allaah’s statement, “((As for someone who ascribes partners to Allaah, a similitude that applies to him is that of a person who fell from the sky and is then snatched apart by the birds, or strong gusts of wind cast him off to a distant desolate area.)) [22:31]. Thus, his soul will be put back into his body.”

[قال: فإنه ليسمع خفق نعال أصحابه إذا ولوا عنه]، ويأتيه ملكان [شديدا الانتهار، فينتهرانه، و] يجلسانه، فيقولان له: من ربك؟ [فيقول: هاه هاه لا أدري، فيقول له: ما دينك؟ فيقول: هاه هاه لا أدري]، فيقولان: فما تقول في هذا الرجل الذي بعث فيكم؟ فلا يهتدي لاسمه، فيقال: محمد. فيقول: هاه هاه لا أدري [سمعت الناس يقولون ذاك. قال: فيقال: لا دريت]، [ولا تلوت]، فينادي مناد من السماء: أن كذب، فأفرشوا له من النار، وافتحوا له بابًا إلى النار، فيأتيه من حرها وسَمومها، ويضيَّق عليه قبره حتى تختلف فيه أضلاعه.

{o} [Allaah’s Messenger (may Allaah grant him commendation and protection) further said, “He will most certainly hear the sounds made by the footwear of those who accompanied him for his burial as they walk away, leaving him behind.] Two [very harsh and stern] angels will come to him. They will both [address him sternly,] sit him up, and ask him, ‘Who is your Lord?’ He will reply expressing confusion and pain, ‘Aah. Aah. I have no idea.’ They will then ask him, ‘What is your religion?’ He will reply expressing confusion and pain, ‘Aah. Aah. I have no idea.’ They will then ask him, ‘What do you say about this man who was sent among you?’ He will not be able to figure out the name of the person being referred to, so he will be told that the person is Muhammad. He will reply expressing confusion and pain, ‘Aah. Aah. I have no idea. [I heard people saying that.’ He will be told, ‘Neither did you have any knowledge, nor did you bother to read or to follow those who did have knowledge.’] A caller will then proclaim in the heavens, ‘What he said is incorrect. Therefore, you – the angels – are to give him furnishings from the hellfire, and open for him a gate to the hellfire.’ As a result, some of the heat and scorching wind of the hellfire will reach him, and his grave will be constricted around him to the point that the ribs on each side of him will be squeezed into the other.

ويأتيه [وفي رواية: ويمثل له] رجل قبيح الوجه، قبيح الثياب، منتن الريح، فيقول: أبشر بالذي يسوؤك، هذا يومك الذي كنت توعد. فيقول: [وأنت فبشرك الله بالشر]، من أنت؟ فوجهك الوجه يجيء بالشر! فيقول: أنا عملك الخبيث. [فوالله ما علمت إلا كنت بطيئًا عن طاعة الله، سريعًا إلى معصية الله]، [فجزاك الله شرًّا.

{p} A man will come to him” [– an alternate narration contains the wording: “Something will appear before him in the form of a man” –] “whose face is ugly, clothing is ugly, and smell is terrible. That man will say, ‘Receive ill tidings that will fill you with unhappiness. This is your day which you had been promised.’ The deceased will reply to that man by saying, ‘[I implore Allaah to convey tidings of much bad to you as well.] Who are you? I ask because your face is one which heralds bad.’ The man will reply, ‘I am your repulsive deeds. [I swear by Allaah that I have always known you as slow to obey Allaah, and swift to disobey Allaah.] [I, therefore, invoke Allaah to recompense you with much bad.’

ثم يقيض له أعمى أصم أبكم في يده مِرْزَبَّةٌ، لو ضرب بها جبل كان ترابًا، فيضربه ضربة حتى يصير بها ترابًا، ثم يعيده الله كما كان، فيضربه ضربة أخرى، فيصيح صيحة يسمعه كل شيء إلا الثقلين، ثم يفتح له باب من النار، ويمهَّد من فُرُش النار]. فيقول: ربِّ لا تُقِم الساعةَ.

{q} The deceased will then be assigned an angel of punishment who does not see, hear, or speak; and in whose hand there will be an iron hammer that would make a mountain crumble to dust if struck with it. That angel will strike him once, turning him into dust. Allaah will then restore the person to his previous state and the angel will strike him again, causing him to scream so loudly that all creatures will hear him except jinns and humans. After that, a gate to the hellfire will be opened for him, a bedding of the hellfire will be spread beneath him,] and he will plead, ‘My Lord, I beg You to not let the Hour of Resurrection take place’.”

References: Ahkaam al-Janaa’iz (pp. 198-202, along with sources cited. Maktabah al-Ma‘aarif, 1412h). See also Mirqaatul-Mafaateeh, no. 125, 126, 130, 131, 1629, 1630; al-Fath ar-Rabbaanee 7/74; Thakheeratul-'Uqbaa 18/247, 19/338; Sharh Sunan Abee Daawood by ibn Raslaan, no. 4751, 4752, 4753; 'Awn al-Ma'bood, no. 4751, 4752, 4753; Sharh Sunan Abee Daawood by al-'Abbaad 539/1-15.